


Nightmare

by bri_notthecheese



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: ALL of the face kisses, Cuddling, F/F, mentions of Rafe Adler & Sam Drake being assholes, these two comforting and holding each other give me life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-16
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2019-01-18 02:27:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12378954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bri_notthecheese/pseuds/bri_notthecheese
Summary: Nadine has a nightmare of one of her worst memories and Chloe is of course there to comfort her.





	Nightmare

_“You mean…like this?”_

_“I warned you.”_

_“Do it!”_

“Rafe!”

The punctuated yell tore Chloe from her sleep.

It took but a moment for her mind to clear and she was instantly grabbing the gun on the hotel room’s nightstand. The safety was off in the next moment as she rolled around to face the room.

Nothing.

There was no intruder, at least not one she could see. Chloe took a few breaths. They calmed her down and gave her a few moments to wait and see if anyone was truly there.

She finally noted that despite Nadine sitting straight up in bed, her partner hadn’t moved. She wasn’t even holding a gun.

“Nadine…?”

No response. Chloe replaced her pistol and turned back to her friend.

“You alright, Nadine?” Chloe reached out and gently touched her arm. Oh, she was _trembling_. “Hey…hey, it’s okay. It’s me.”

Chloe’s fingers closed, carefully gripping her arm. Nadine started with a gasp and spun to face Chloe, knocking her hand away with much more gusto than necessary.

Still half asleep, Nadine Ross was a force to be reckoned with.

Chloe held her hands up in a pacified manner. In the dim light from the moon, she could still see the confusion and fear etched across Nadine’s face. “Hey. Nadine, it’s me. It’s Chloe.”

Her name seemed to register something within her partner. She frowned. “Chloe?”

Chloe nodded. “Yeah.” She tried again, her hands reaching for Nadine’s slowly until she was gently holding both of her friend’s hands in hers. Her thumbs brushed the top of Nadine’s knuckles in what she hoped to be a calming gesture.

“Come on down here, China.”

Chloe slowly eased herself back down on the bed, guiding Nadine to do the same. She opened her arms for her friend, who wasted no time in accepting the invitation and wrapping herself around Chloe. She buried her face into Chloe’s neck and let out an extremely shaky sigh. The warm breath tickled Chloe’s neck and she suppressed a shiver. Now was not the time.

Chloe wouldn’t lie and say it wasn’t nice to hold the woman. She just wished it were under different circumstances. It’d been a few months since Ganesh and there may have been one or two (or several) times since then that the two had woken up tangled in each other. Neither had said anything, but Chloe hadn’t minded. She’d like to think Nadine hadn’t either.

“Shhhhh, it’s alright, love, it’s alright. You’re safe.”

Thank God she seemed to be helping. The last thing her friend needed was for Chloe to make her feel worse. She rubbed her back in an attempt to soothe as Nadine worked on her breathing.

She’d seen Nadine squirm in her sleep before—everybody had nightmares from time to time, and with all the shit she’s seen, Nadine’s bound to have some nasty images swirling around in her brain. But up until now, she’d never made a sound. Chloe anticipates that scream will haunt her for a bit.

Finally when she felt it was okay to speak, Chloe asked, “New or old dream?”

Her partner was silent. Just as Chloe thought she might ignore the question, she heard, “Neither. Just a memory.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

Nadine winced. Her arms tightened, clinging to Chloe. She mumbled something.

“Sorry love? I didn’t catch that.”

Nadine sighed. “You wouldn’t like hearing it.”

Ah _._ This may be unpleasant. Chloe pulled back, signaling Nadine to do the same. She made certain to meet the woman’s eyes. “Even so. Talk to me.”

Nadine lowered her eyes. She seemed to be struggling for words, a rare sight for Chloe.

“Who was there?”

A pause. “Sam Drake. And my last partner Rafe Adler.”

Chloe allowed herself a moment of relief that she was not the cause. “From the pirate hunt?”

“Ja.” Nadine crawled back into Chloe. “I thought I was going to die.”

Chloe tightened her grip. The thought of a dead Nadine did not sit well with her at all.

Nadine’s soft voice continued. “Maybe it’s stupid—I was a mercenary, I should be prepared to die. And I have been in dozens of other situations.” Another shaky breath. “But this was different. There wasn’t a way out. There wasn’t anything I could do to stop it.”

“What—uhm,” Chloe could barely find her voice. “What happened?”

“We’d been fighting. Me and the Drakes. Then Rafe and two of my men showed up, but before I could do anything, Sam had a gun to my head. He threatened to shoot if Rafe didn’t comply.”

“Shit. He didn’t, did he?”

“No. He bet my life to try to call Sam’s bluff. I told him Sam was serious, but he didn’t listen. It was like a game between those two, and I was just their stupid pawn. Inconsequential.” Nadine’s voice caught in her throat.

Then, a quiet sob escaped, and Chloe froze.

She had never heard Nadine cry before. What the hell was she supposed to do?

That thought lasted only for a second, however, because in the next she was clutching onto Nadine, holding her as close as possible. Nadine’s grip had tightened, but from the way her body still trembled, Chloe assumed she was attempting to swallow her tears.

Jesus. The woman had woken from her worst bloody nightmare and she was still trying to be strong.

“Nadine, it’s okay to cry.”

“Shut up,” came the quiet hiss on her collarbone.

And yet, a few moments later, Nadine buried her face into Chloe’s chest and cried.

Feeling her cry was just as awful as hearing it. It was nearly silent, but Chloe still heard every tiny gasp and every quiet sniffle. She held tight as her own throat closed up, her heart breaking for Nadine.

A few minutes passed.

Nadine’s breathing calmed. Her grip stayed firm, as did Chloe’s. She knew Nadine needed the physical comfort.

“There aren’t many other moments in my life where I’d been that scared.” She forced a laugh. “Funny though. I tried to kill Nathan a few times, but he still yanked the gun away before it fired into my head.”

Chloe hummed before a thought occurred to her. “Wait.” She pulled back to look Nadine in the face. “Wait, Sam pulled the trigger?”

“Ja.”

“Oh my God. Nadine...”

Chloe dove in and kissed Nadine’s forehead, both hands coming up to cradle her face. She could’ve lost her. No, dammit, she never would have found her in the first place. Nadine could’ve died and Chloe would never have known about it. She never would’ve met this amazing woman.

Tears tickled Chloe’s eyes. Swallowing the lump in her throat she continued planting kisses along Nadine’s face—her forehead, her cheeks, her temples, her nose…

Nadine giggled amongst all the affection. “You haven’t lost me yet, Frazer. I’m still here.”

“I won’t lose you, ever,” Chloe corrected, fiddling with some of Nadine’s stray curls.

“You won’t lose me ever,” Nadine repeated. Her fingers danced across Chloe’s face. She gently brushed away a lone tear. “I’m right here.”

Chloe didn’t need time to think about it. Her gut told her everything.

She leaned in towards her friend, her partner, her…Nadine. Chloe touched their lips together, reveling in just how right it felt to be kissing her. It was soft, languid—perfect. A sigh escaped Nadine. Chloe almost let one out herself.

Against her better judgment (or perhaps in lieu of), Chloe pulled back, content enough to at least have made that step in their relationship.

Nadine had other ideas.

The woman surged forward, fingers twisting through Chloe’s hair and pressing their lips together once more. Chloe wasted no time in responding, snaking one arm back around Nadine’s waist while the other kept a tight hold on her neck. With their bodies pressed together so perfectly, Chloe felt it impossible to ignore the fire in her belly.

They kissed for some time.

Eventually, the night caught up with them as their lips slowed and their hands ceased to wander. Nadine mumbled something into Chloe’s mouth before turning around and snuggling back into her, holding her arm hostage around her thin waist.

Chloe couldn’t have imagined a better outcome of this night.

Well, perhaps one other, but there were plenty of other nights ahead for that.

For now, she was simply happy to hold Nadine close as they drifted back to sleep. 

**Author's Note:**

> This idea has been swimming around in my head pretty much since I finished the game, but writing it was like driving up those muddy hills in the 4x4. I really wanted to see this conversation happen and now it has, but since it was so grueling to write, I'm not sure how happy I am with it. But I'm glad it's written because I still get the nice feeling of accomplishment when you finish a piece, and hopefully it was enjoyable to read as well! ^_^


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